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3 overdose victims revived within 12 hour span in Toms River

A kit with naloxone, also known by its brand name Narcan, is displayed at the South Jersey AIDS Alliance in Atlantic City, N.J. on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Police in Toms River revived three overdose victims with Narcan, a nasal spray used as an antidote for opiate drug overdoses, within a 12 hour span, the Toms River Police Department announced in a release Thursday morning.

The first call came at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday from the boyfriend of an unresponsive 26-year-old woman at an Oak Ridge Parkway residence, police said. Paramedics administered Narcan, and the revived woman was transported to Community Medical Center, according to police.

Then less than an hour later at 6:24 p.m., police responded to the parking lot of the Office Lounge at 820 Main Street on a report of a 24-year-old man found unconscious on the passenger seat of a car, police said.

Upon picking up the man in Bayville, a female friend noticed he was under the influence of an unknown substance, and when she drove into Toms River, the man “passed out,” police said. Police and EMS units responded, administered Narcan, and transported the revived man to the hospital, according to police.

The last save came at 6:35 a.m. Thursday on a report of a 32-year-old man unresponsive in a bed at the Sun and Sand Motel at 3324 Route 37 East. Police and EMS units responded, administered Narcan, and transported the revived man to the hospital, police said.

In addition to the latest cases, township police officers have also saved two overdose individuals in the last two weeks, according to the release.

“Detectives continue to investigate these cases in attempts to determine if they are related by specific brand of narcotic used or potentially similar distribution networks,” the release said.

The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office developed the Narcan program’s policy and training protocols in early January 2014. The first Narcan kits were distributed throughout Ocean County in April and quickly deployed, with police reviving overdose victims in Seaside Heights, Toms River, Lacey, and Manchester.